At this point in the play, Hamlet is still mourning the death of his father, King Hamlet. The new king, and also Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, had just announced that he has taken Gertrude's hand in marriage. Gertrude is the former King's wife and Hamlet's mother. In the beginning of scene 2 Hamlet is questioned by Gertrude and Claudius as to why he is still wearing black and why he still seems gloomy. Claudius goes on to explain that all sons lose their fathers, and their fathers lose their fathers. He says that it is unmanly to mourn for too long and it is ultimately time wasted. Right before Hamlet's soliloquy, he agrees by the wishes of his uncle and his mother to not return to Wittenberg where he had been studying before his father's death. This soliloquy is in response to his disgust at his uncle and his mother, their "incestuous" marriage and the aftermath of his father's death. He questions his mother's loyalty by reminiscing how in love his parents were and how quickly his mother was to marry his uncle. ANNOTATED SOLILOQUY:
HAMLET: O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed 135
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. O God, God,
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't, ah, fie, 'tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature 140
Possess it merely.
In this stanza, Hamlet is thinking about suicide when he has desires for his flesh to melt. He feels that suicide seems like a desirable way to live life in a painful world. However, Hamlet feels that the option of suicide is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion. He says that the "Everlasting" or God, has a law (canon) against killing one's self. Hamlet sees no point in living in this world anymore as it seems cruel and disgusting to him now.
That it should come to this:
But two months dead, nay, not so much, not two,
So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven 145
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on; and yet within a month--
Even though Hamlet's father has died, he is still known to be a great king who is still remembered by all and his uncle has not lived up to his brother's ranking.Referring to Claudius as a "satyr" shows that Hamlet does not respect his uncle as a ruler and sees him as immoral and selfish. He is a "satyr" because like an animal, ignoring any moral code and just acting on his sexual desire and need for power. Hamlet comments that his father was always so good to his mother and that they loved one another, so for her to remarry so soon after his death, and marry his brother, is very disrespectful to him. The comparison of Claudius to a Satyr again focuses on the "lust" between Gertrude and Claudius, something that clearly disgusts Hamlet. Let me not think on't; frailty, thy name is woman-- 150
Hamlet comments that, as a woman, his mother is weak. She has too quickly given in to her sexual desires as well, and she disregards any moral obligation to her recently deceased husband or to Hamlet. This idea of "frailty" being synonymous with "woman" has its roots in Judeo/Christian theology that holds Eve responsible for giving in to the temptations of the devil/snake. Hamlet's accusation of "frailty" is an accusation against all human character and its weakness in avoiding temptation, whatever it might be. With regard to Gertrude, that temptation is one of the flesh, which is even more disturbing for a son to contemplate.
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father's body
Like Niobe, all tears, why she, even she--
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer-- married with my uncle, 155
Hamlet is very moved by how fast his mother moved on.Hamlet says that some creature or animal would have mourned longer and had more respect for the dead than his mother did for his father. She went from grieving immensely for her late husband (Niobe, see below) to parading around with her new one... his brother. Hamlet is shocked and disgusted by his mother's actions and sudden, unreasonable change from mourning to remarrying.
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules.
Hamlet does not see his uncle and never will see his uncle as a good king or father. He knows the truth, and he relates his uncle to his father as being as different, as he is to Hercules.Hamlet does not see his uncle as a courageous man, at all.
Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, 160
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
Again Hamlet is commenting on the speed with which his mother's tears have dried up and her eyes have turned to Claudius. However, it is also the first time that Hamlet describes Gertrude and Claudius' relationship as "incestuous."Gertrude only sees fulfillment in her bed by simply replacing Hamlet's father physically. But it is also at this point that Shakespeare uses a bit of foreshadowing when Hamlet states that "it cannot come to good."
But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
He truly feels no good will come out of the situation. Despite this deeply affecting his life, Hamlet must keep his feelings to himself, and knows he must not tell his mother nor her new husband (his uncle) about how he feels. 133. sullied: stained, defiled (alternate spellings are “sallied” and “solid”
136. canon: law
143. that was to this: i.e., that was, in comparison to this king (Claudius)
144. Hyperion to a satyr: i.e., like the sun god as compared to a goatlike satyr (a satyr is a goatlike creature that ignores moral and/or sexual restraint)
145. might not beteem: would not allow
151. or ere: before
153. Niobe: In Greek mythology, Niobe, so grief-stricken at the loss of her children that she could not cease crying, was transformed into a stone from which water continually flowed.
154. wants…reason: lacks the ability to reason
158. Hercules: in Greek mythology, a hero of extraordinary strength and courage
160. Had…eyes: i.e., had stopped turning her eyes red
161. post: rush (as in riding a post-horse)
162. incestuous: Hamlet calls the marriage of his mother and his uncle “incestuous”a—i.e., a violation of the laws against intercourse between close kin. Other members of the Danish court seem to see the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius as legal and legitimate. Debates about the incestuousness of a marriage between a widow and her dead husband’s brother were heated in the 16th century (especially during the divorce trial of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon). The Bible gives conflicting commands about such marriages. CONCLUSION:
Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, tries to explain that life still goes on even though his father has died. Claudius says, "But you have to remember, that your father lost his father, who lost his father before him, and every time, each son has had to mourn his father for a certain period" (modernized). However, it is not simply his father's death that troubles Hamlet, and we are made aware of that through Hamlet's soliloquy.
Hamlet sees his uncle-as-replacement as a cosmic joke. That a man described like a "satyr" can obtain the power and position of a Hyperion is in many ways earth shattering. The "unweeded garden"without the powerful King Hamlet around to spray the Weed-B-Gone,allows weeds like Claudius to grow unchecked. It is unfair and changes Hamlet's entire view of the world. How does one live in a world where such injustices are permitted to exist? This is Hamlet's initial philosophical challenge.
Folger Edition)
INTRODUCTION:
At this point in the play, Hamlet is still mourning the death of his father, King Hamlet. The new king, and also Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, had just announced that he has taken Gertrude's hand in marriage. Gertrude is the former King's wife and Hamlet's mother. In the beginning of scene 2 Hamlet is questioned by Gertrude and Claudius as to why he is still wearing black and why he still seems gloomy. Claudius goes on to explain that all sons lose their fathers, and their fathers lose their fathers. He says that it is unmanly to mourn for too long and it is ultimately time wasted. Right before Hamlet's soliloquy, he agrees by the wishes of his uncle and his mother to not return to Wittenberg where he had been studying before his father's death. This soliloquy is in response to his disgust at his uncle and his mother, their "incestuous" marriage and the aftermath of his father's death. He questions his mother's loyalty by reminiscing how in love his parents were and how quickly his mother was to marry his uncle.
ANNOTATED SOLILOQUY:
HAMLET:
O that this too too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed 135
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. O God, God,
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't, ah, fie, 'tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature 140
Possess it merely.
In this stanza, Hamlet is thinking about suicide when he has desires for his flesh to melt. He feels that suicide seems like a desirable way to live life in a painful world. However, Hamlet feels that the option of suicide is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion. He says that the "Everlasting" or God, has a law (canon) against killing one's self. Hamlet sees no point in living in this world anymore as it seems cruel and disgusting to him now.
That it should come to this:
But two months dead, nay, not so much, not two,
So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven 145
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on; and yet within a month--
Even though Hamlet's father has died, he is still known to be a great king who is still remembered by all and his uncle has not lived up to his brother's ranking. Referring to Claudius as a "satyr" shows that Hamlet does not respect his uncle as a ruler and sees him as immoral and selfish. He is a "satyr" because like an animal, ignoring any moral code and just acting on his sexual desire and need for power. Hamlet comments that his father was always so good to his mother and that they loved one another, so for her to remarry so soon after his death, and marry his brother, is very disrespectful to him. The comparison of Claudius to a Satyr again focuses on the "lust" between Gertrude and Claudius, something that clearly disgusts Hamlet.
Let me not think on't; frailty, thy name is woman-- 150
Hamlet comments that, as a woman, his mother is weak. She has too quickly given in to her sexual desires as well, and she disregards any moral obligation to her recently deceased husband or to Hamlet. This idea of "frailty" being synonymous with "woman" has its roots in Judeo/Christian theology that holds Eve responsible for giving in to the temptations of the devil/snake. Hamlet's accusation of "frailty" is an accusation against all human character and its weakness in avoiding temptation, whatever it might be. With regard to Gertrude, that temptation is one of the flesh, which is even more disturbing for a son to contemplate.
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father's body
Like Niobe, all tears, why she, even she--
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer-- married with my uncle, 155
Hamlet is very moved by how fast his mother moved on. Hamlet says that some creature or animal would have mourned longer and had more respect for the dead than his mother did for his father. She went from grieving immensely for her late husband (Niobe, see below) to parading around with her new one... his brother. Hamlet is shocked and disgusted by his mother's actions and sudden, unreasonable change from mourning to remarrying.
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules.
Hamlet does not see his uncle and never will see his uncle as a good king or father. He knows the truth, and he relates his uncle to his father as being as different, as he is to Hercules. Hamlet does not see his uncle as a courageous man, at all.
Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, 160
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
Again Hamlet is commenting on the speed with which his mother's tears have dried up and her eyes have turned to Claudius. However, it is also the first time that Hamlet describes Gertrude and Claudius' relationship as "incestuous." Gertrude only sees fulfillment in her bed by simply replacing Hamlet's father physically. But it is also at this point that Shakespeare uses a bit of foreshadowing when Hamlet states that "it cannot come to good."
But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
He truly feels no good will come out of the situation. Despite this deeply affecting his life, Hamlet must keep his feelings to himself, and knows he must not tell his mother nor her new husband (his uncle) about how he feels.
133. sullied: stained, defiled (alternate spellings are “sallied” and “solid”
136. canon: law
143. that was to this: i.e., that was, in comparison to this king (Claudius)
144. Hyperion to a satyr: i.e., like the sun god as compared to a goatlike satyr (a satyr is a goatlike creature that ignores moral and/or sexual restraint)
145. might not beteem: would not allow
151. or ere: before
153. Niobe: In Greek mythology, Niobe, so grief-stricken at the loss of her children that she could not cease crying, was transformed into a stone from which water continually flowed.
154. wants…reason: lacks the ability to reason
158. Hercules: in Greek mythology, a hero of extraordinary strength and courage
160. Had…eyes: i.e., had stopped turning her eyes red
161. post: rush (as in riding a post-horse)
162. incestuous: Hamlet calls the marriage of his mother and his uncle “incestuous”a—i.e., a violation of the laws against intercourse between close kin. Other members of the Danish court seem to see the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius as legal and legitimate. Debates about the incestuousness of a marriage between a widow and her dead husband’s brother were heated in the 16th century (especially during the divorce trial of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon). The Bible gives conflicting commands about such marriages.
CONCLUSION:
Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, tries to explain that life still goes on even though his father has died. Claudius says, "But you have to remember, that your father lost his father, who lost his father before him, and every time, each son has had to mourn his father for a certain period" (modernized). However, it is not simply his father's death that troubles Hamlet, and we are made aware of that through Hamlet's soliloquy.
Hamlet sees his uncle-as-replacement as a cosmic joke. That a man described like a "satyr" can obtain the power and position of a Hyperion is in many ways earth shattering. The "unweeded garden" without the powerful King Hamlet around to spray the Weed-B-Gone, allows weeds like Claudius to grow unchecked. It is unfair and changes Hamlet's entire view of the world. How does one live in a world where such injustices are permitted to exist? This is Hamlet's initial philosophical challenge.
But he cannot share these thoughts with anyone.